Internet transactions often require a user to enter information into one or more electronic forms. For example, the user may first have to enter specific information into a field or form that identifies the product the user wishes to purchase or identifies the transaction the user wishes to conduct. The web application then provides the user with the electronic forms associated with the requested product or transaction. For example, purchasing items on a web site may require a user to first select an item and then fill out a form that requires the user to input both personal information and credit card information.
In another example, a user may want to apply for a credit card, home loan, or other financial service over the Internet. This also requires the user to fill out one or more complex electronic forms that require the user to fill in multiple different fields related to personal, financial, and demographic information.
Usually the user fills in all of the requested fields in the form and then submits the form back to the web site for verification and execution. In some web applications, some of the information verification may be performed as the user is entering the data into the electronic forms. For example, the web page may have some intelligence that verifies the user has entered a valid credit card number.
Either way, any incorrectly entered information usually results in the user receiving a cryptic message, such as “invalid entry please reenter”. These problems entering information into electronic forms can be extremely frustrating to the user. For example, the user may not understand what information the form is requesting. Even when the type of information is known, the user may not understand how the information should be input into the form. For example, should a social security number include dashes or spaces between groups of numbers?
If the frustration level gets too high, or the correct information cannot be determined, the user may terminate the entire electronic transaction. This, of course, results in the enterprise losing business and defeats one of the primary purposes of conducting transactions on line, convenience.